Accelerating Community Electricity Choice

As a general principle, most of us agree that Choice is good.  Choosing the source of your electricity is even better.  It enables you to save money, help address climate change, and jump start the carbon-free economy.  What's not to love?

CA law (Assembly Bill 117, passed in 2002) enables “Community Choice Aggregation" or "CCA".   Under this law, a community can create a local energy program and automatically enroll all members of that community.  California has three CCAs already, Marin Clean Energy, Sonoma Clean Power and Lancaster Choice Energy. View the history of California's CCAs here.  See Recent Developments here. 

How does this CCA thing work again?  It's really pretty simple.  Your Community votes to create (or join) a "community choice" program or entity.  Marin and Sonoma Counties created their own new, community-responsive entities.  The City of Lancaster has created the program within the City. 

• The new program decides --with input from the community -- what kind of electricity to buy. Green (what %); what savings levels; renewable (what counts as renewable); local (how much), etc.   The existing utility delivers that electricity to you, same as always. 
• The utility still sends the bills -- and keeps the lights on.  They fix downed wires, etc.  Nothing changes except the source of the electricity and who is making those decisions. 

---

How does SDED accelerate this process?

Community-Focused Education and Outreach
We've been following community electricity choice initiatives --and nothing else-- since 2011.  Here's how that experience can help push your community efforts along:

• We monitor local actions -- Through our trained Ambassadors and other local members and advocates, when the time comes, we're there.
• We know the details -- Models, impacts, implementation details -- we can present these to elected officials, businesses, community groups.  Just ask. 
• We can bring in reinforcements -- Sometimes testimony from a local business is all it takes. SDED's members, Ambassadors and local advocates are primed and ready to help. 

"Jump Start" Support Services
Launching in 2016, SDED's "Local Roadmap to Community Choice" services offer a second level of education and support for communities going forward with a CCA. 

Under a simple Scope that outlines deliverables and timeline, SDED will provide a suite of program support and advisors, templates and services, designed to move through the "Five Stages of CCA Implementation".  SDED services do not replace professional consultants.  Rather, we facilitate the local decisions needed to enable faster, clearer local RFPs and decision-making. 

Let's get started!